FLOWER & Mad World (Short ver. MVs on YouTube)

[jyujiw]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

I am a bit sad if "diva" Ayu is gone for good, because she always looked so glamorous... however, if it makes Ayu happiest to be this way, there's no reason for her to go back to the way things were.

Well, I would miss it too. That's why I was so happy at the Colours era with all that booklet and photoshop beauty hahaha

Let's see what the future holds, but both PVs seems to rely on a message of not doing what people expect from me anymore and this is how I feel about it.

FLOWER: "You expected from me to be a beautiful geisha, doing some poses (like she does in the beginning) but there you have it, I'm thrashing everything"
Mad World: "You want me to be a diva or the perfect girl of my peak, but I changed and I don't feel any happinness in being pushed to return to who I was back then"

And it really wraps with the album theme: Made in Japan. That's probably how she feels about living there nowadays...

[truehappiness]

Misa-chan's translation of her Numero article mentioned the reasoning for the title:

These words came from a reflection after putting 18 years of effort into her songs and concerts. With that, we asked her what she envisioned herself to be like as an artiste, back when she first debuted.
Now that I think about it, I never had any idea what kind of artiste I wanted to be, or what kind of songs I wanted to sing… Rather than writing lyrics, it felt like I was penning down letters or a diary entry. My latest album is titled “MADE IN JAPAN”, which refers to myself, as well as the fact that this is where I am proud to be, where I love, where my everything is… So rather than how I wanted to be, it’s about how I can change what I have become. But when I was creating the album, what was on my mind were the things which cannot be changed. So it can’t be helped if it’s a little dark. (laugh)

[jyujiw]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

Misa-chan's translation of her Numero article mentioned the reasoning for the title:

That's pretty, thanks!
However the last sentence of hers ("But when I was creating the album, what was on my mind were the things which cannot be changed. So it can’t be helped if it’s a little dark.") makes me still wonder.

Since the album cover, I can't really believe that she isn't criticizing some points of living in Japan and the pressures of it. hahaha
I think she would never say that openly, after all, she would sure receive some major backlash imo ^_^"

[ayu-michan]

Originally Posted by jyujiw

That's pretty, thanks!
However the last sentence of hers ("But when I was creating the album, what was on my mind were the things which cannot be changed. So it can’t be helped if it’s a little dark.") makes me still wonder.

Since the album cover, I can't really believe that she isn't criticizing some points of living in Japan and the pressures of it. hahaha
I think she would never say that openly, after all, she would sure receive some major backlash imo ^_^"

I like how MIJ tour appeals to Japanese audience through "celebrate and appreciate our country together" but she's also lowkey criticizing it through the album lyrics. I love this because it's like a hidden message of some sort, almost similar to PQ.

[JinHamasaki]

Originally Posted by ayu-michan

I like how MIJ tour appeals to Japanese audience through "celebrate and appreciate our country together" but she's also lowkey criticizing it through the album lyrics. I love this because it's like a hidden message of some sort, almost similar to PQ.

I don't think it's that hidden. The beginning 3 songs of the album talk about the negatives of Japan, and then "Survivor" starts and the album changes its mood to talk about the greatness of her experiences in Japan.

Reminds me of her quote about RAINBOW where she said without sadness you can't appreciate happiness (no rain, no rainbow).

[Zeke.]

Originally Posted by JinHamasaki

I don't think it's that hidden. The beginning 3 songs of the album talk about the negatives of Japan, and then "Survivor" starts and the album changes its mood to talk about the greatness of her experiences in Japan.

Reminds me of her quote about RAINBOW where she said without sadness you can't appreciate happiness (no rain, no rainbow).

It's funny and ironic that the first three are the best of the bunch. They're literally I listen to from this album, aside from the bonus track.

[Corvina]

I agree, her criticising Japan is pretty direct in the lyrics and in the PVs.

[waterballoon]

i thought the only song that was really obvious in criticizing Japan was SURVIVOR..

[voltron]

The beginning of Mad World gives me such nostalgia for the Free & Easy video. I keep expecting that she's going to walk over some grapes.

[Anna.L]

What i understood from Mad World's pv it is: she doesn't want to be a diva, look at the image on the screen behind her, she just wanna do music, no be an image

When I read the lyrics and watch the pv, i know that can be that way

[ExodusUK]

I swear you guys could find meaning and write theories and a thesis about Ayu's choice of earrings in a PV. Sugoi...y'all are so deep thinking and considerate..

[truehappiness]

Well, she has said she has reasons for just about everything she does, so it's not too out there to think certain things have meaning here.

[ayu-suits]

For someone who has followed Ayu for about 14 years, simplicity is such a refreshing attack.

[rikku1994]

Originally Posted by ayu-suits

For someone who has followed Ayu for about 14 years, simplicity is such a refreshing attack.

OMG YOU'RE FROM THE PHILIPPINES TOO! Sorry, it's hard to find Ayu fans here haha

[js_surrealism]

^ she has done simplicity many times before, no?

[ayu-michan]

^ Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the first time she ever stripped down all her layers of a diva to this extent. Simplicity here is not like Love again's simple concept; MIJ's simplicity is almost close to asfxx's vulnerability where all her walls of a diva is down completely.

[js_surrealism]

Originally Posted by ayu-michan

^ Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the first time she ever stripped down all her layers of a diva to this extent. Simplicity here is not like Love again's simple concept; MIJ's simplicity is almost close to asfxx's vulnerability where all her walls of a diva is down completely.

I am thinking of PVs like How beautiful you are and beloved. Mad World falls into that category I guess but Flower does not, for me.

[Aderianu]

Wonder how she chose video scenes for Mad World.
It starts from Stadium tour - I think it's her biggest live. Jewel - one of the most expensive PV. Concert tour 2000 - because it is first tour? vogue Far away Seasons video, Heaven (?), documentary from AT07 (?), Beautifil fighters

[Nukaru]

IMO, Mad World is a PV about her carrer. She started small, was natural and all of the sudden, she was made into the diva we see today.. and maybe she wants to go back to her old ways and that's why she's crying.

[freedreamer]

Originally Posted by waterballoon

do you guys think that FLOWER might end with Ayu naked or maybe in lingerie, just laid out unconscious on the streets?

I noticed she seems to present herself as a flower in the video, and it seems like cutting her hair and ripping off parts of her clothing could represent a flower scattering its petals and/or withering, which are concepts she has sung before like in "Moments".

right before the cut she seems to be running out of a hotel room, maybe possibly into the streets? i think it'd be cool if she lost more and more of her "petals" and finally died off

omg that is a refreshing perspective. No wonder she has butterflies on her body. SHE is the flower that was blossoming but now she just wants to strip all of that off